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This episode of My Go-To Dish features Mark McClusky, special projects editor at Wired magazine and Wired.com. McClusky has reported on and learned about modernist cuisine from some of its most well-known pioneers. His DIY American cheese recipe uses a scientific approach to cooking. To take part in the experiment, see the recipe. And once you've made Mark's cheese, try it in a grilled cheese sandwich, like he uses it here, or stuff it into a Juicy Lucy Burger.

This incredibly easy seafood dinner uses fresh pineapple and a teriyaki-style sauce for the classic sweet-and-tangy profile of Hawaiian shrimp. The pineapple also concentrates as it bakes and helps keep the rice mixture from becoming too dry.

This stew is based on the savory rice porridge congee, which has roots in Chinese, Thai, and Korean cuisines. Though the dish uses some classic Asian ingredients—such as fish sauce, ginger, and bok choy—the flavors are not aggressively Asian.

Think of this as a lighter, fresher take on chicken Parmesan: We ditch the breading on the poultry and let juicy cherry tomatoes stand in for jarred pasta sauce. A little grated carrot adds just enough sweetness to round out the acidity.